Although I don't have the room, I like looking through the MTH Tinplate catalogs and drooling (Ok, not actually drooling) over all the big shiny standard gauge trains I wish I could have. There's just something so cool about all the bold colors, polished brass and nickel trim, and fun designs that make them what they are. But I'm wondering how they can pass this one off as an authentic reproduction?
http://www.mthtrains.com/content/11-1019-0
I have to admit, it's an awesome looking steamer! The blue boiler is apparently supposed to look like russia iron. Now here's an actual, all original Lionel:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lionel-Standard-Gauge-No-6-Locomotive-and-Tender-Early-1900s-/271017358886?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3f19e4b626
The boiler is made of actual russia iron, and looks nothing like the MTH representation! And for $900, I think I'd expect better from a reproduction that's supposed to look just like the original. I believe MTH also gave one of their Triplexs the blue boiler treatment to pass off as russia iron. I know the real metal was reflective and would appear to have a slightly blue shine under a clear sky, but it was nothing like that solid blue. So, what was MTH thinking?
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What was MTH thinking? Well, I can't speak for MTH, but I suppose in the case of the 1906 Lionel 4-4-0 repro, some deviations were done to prevent the repro from being doctored up and passed off as an original by some devious soul out there. Don't think it wouldn't happen.
From my experience in the gun business I can tell you that the replicas of famous antique guns such as the 1851 Navy Colt, the '73 Winchester, and many others have slight dimensional differences from the originals to make passing doctored repros off as the genuine article as difficult as possible. Put a repro '51 Navy alongside and original and you'll see the differences right away. And even then, some poor souls wind up buying fakes as originals anyway due to not doing their "homework".
And the color of "Russia Iron"? I've done some research on it and the odd thing is no-one seems to agree what it should look like, or even how it was made. The Russians, of course, weren't telling. Colors could go from blue to brown to grey to an odd shade of black. I suppose MTH had to decide on SOMETHING, so blue was as good a choice as any.
you didn't read the fine print...
"... Built along the lines of the newest powerful express passenger locomotives, the No. 6 featured a 4-0-4 wheel arrangement...."
it's a push toy!!
The colour MTH have chosen is typical of Russia Iron as applied to real locomotives of the period and the Lionel model may have used steel treated in the same way as contemporary prototypes.
However, the Russia Iron blue finish didn't last and if the boiler clothing wasn't renewed at an overhaul it was usually painted, often black. It wasn't like stainless steel which doesn't discolour. I believe the blue grey boiler jackets of Canadian Pacific streamlined locomotives were intended to recall the blue Russia Iron jackets of the turn of the century.
I believe that Royal Hudson 2850 had a stainless steel boiler jacket for the pre WWII Royal Tour and this is replicated on 2860 now.
But the point I'm trying to make is that the loco on E-bay, though in excellent condition might be one hundred years old and the finish on the steel boiler is extremely unlikely to be how it appeared on leaving the factory. MTH are trying to represent a new No 6, not one with a century of corrosion on the boiler.
M636C
M636C ... But the point I'm trying to make is that the loco on E-bay, though in excellent condition might be one hundred years old and the finish on the steel boiler is extremely unlikely to be how it appeared on leaving the factory. MTH are trying to represent a new No 6, not one with a century of corrosion on the boiler.
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i just pulled out the TCA Lionel prewar reference (excellent text!) and they indeed show an early and late version of the #6, the eBay ad definitely resembling the later, darker shade boiler whereas the early model shown has a definite blue shade. and even though the pictured locomotive is probably an excellent example of a century old piece, as the previous response said, you're going to find an aged patina on even the best preserved pieces. add to that the difficulty in capturing such a mirrored surface as the reproduction presents, i would reserve my final judgement only with a hands on inspection.
considering there probably weren't any original paint samples to match, i imagine MTH had to make an educated guess.
I drool over the Tinplate catalog, too. The reproductions seem to have much finer detail than the originals, which personally I like.
What is MTH thinking? We'll we need to sell XXX,XXX to make a profit here. We have to pay off the acquisition cost of S Helper line. We have overhead with our expansion into Europe ... so lets see how many orders we can pull in the U.S. with this one.
These guys are business men, not the second coming (in our lifetime) of Santa Claus.
That does help explain things. I've heard that new russia iron could have a blue tint to it, depending on what grade it was and how it was made, but the MTH metallic blue still seems like a little bit much to me. Either way, it's still a very nice looking unit!
Since I do have enough space for a small O setup, I sometimes wish MTH would make scaled-down O gauge versions of the standard gauge trains. I wouldn't mind having a 381E and State set in a more reasonable space (although it would still be above my price range, I'm sure)!
I just checked one of the books here at the "Festung Firelock", specifically "Trackside Along the Erie With Robert Collins." There's some color photos in it of Erie K-1 Pacifics with Russia Iron boiler jackets, and yep, they're blue all right, looks like a metal-flake light blue. I think MTH's come pretty close to the mark.
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